This invention relates to ornamental and protective edge guards which are applied to the edges of sheet metal closures of an automotive vehicle, such as the vehicle's doors.
In a typical automotive vehicle, door edge guards are applied to the trailing edges of the vehicle's doors to protect the door edges from damage which might be caused by striking an object which may be present in a door's path when the door is opened. It is very desirable for such door edge guards to be made of bright metal, such as stainless steel, aluminum, or bimetal, due to the superior protective and ornamental characteristics of such materials. Furthermore, the inherent strength and resiliency of such metallic edge guards enable them to be self-retaining on the doors. Corresondingly, it is generally undesirable to use separate fasteners or adhesives in securing door edge guards to doors since they involve extra cost in labor and materials. It is also generally undesirable to use nonmetallic edge guards, such as vinyl edge guards, since they do not possess the superior protective, ornamental, and self-retention characteristics of the bright metallic edge guards. In connection with the usage of self-retaining door edge guards, it has heretofore been recognized that the potential for paint scratching and marring exists when the metallic edge guards are applied to vehicle doors. Such paint scratching can lead to premature corrosion of the door edge metal. A principal cause of this potential problem is attributable to the rather substantial dimensional variation in the thickness of the marginal edge of the door to which the edge guard is applied. Such variation is inherent in the prevailing method of constructing vehicle doors. Thus, a self-retaining door edge guard must be capable of accommodating a rather large range of door edge thicknesses, yet it must not cause paint scratching or marring on the door, and furthermore it must be readily installable on the assembly line, and it must be economical. Some of applicant's own prior inventions have addressed the paint scratching problem and provided solutions. For example, see applicant's own U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,687 in wich integral curls are formed at the extremities of the inner and outer legs of the edge guard.
A further cause of paint chipping is the denting of the metallic edge guard when in use. At this time it is generally not the self-retention characteristics of the edge guard which give rise to paint chipping, but rather the actual indentations at and near the bottom of the U-shaped edge guard which are caused by striking an object which may be present in a door's path when the door is opened. While a metallic door edge guard affords considerable protection and is definitely superior to an unguarded door edge, severe indentations may well chip the painted door edge underneath the edge guard in the vicinity of the crown of the door edge. This is an area which in general is less prone to paint damage caused by installation of an edge guard; however, it is more susceptible to chipping due to denting of the edge guard when in use because the paint is thinner on the crown of the door edge than on other areas of the door due to the fact that the crown has a relatively small radius of curvature. While any paint chipping which occurs underneath the metallic edge guard is unexposed to view, it can give rise, over the course of time, to other problems such as corrosion which unfortunately may become all too apparent. Hence, there exists a certain vulnerability when in use, even though a door edge guard may be perfectly installed at the factory without any paint chipping, scratching, or marring.
The present invention is directed to a new and improved edge guard for the edges of vehicle body closures which possesses the desirable characteristics of metallic edge guards, yet which avoids the paint damage problems referred to above. An edge guard embodying principles of the present invention can be readily installed on an automobile on an assembly line with a conventional tool and without the use of special tools, machines, or other devices. The present invention permits the use of metallic door edge guards of simple U-shape cross section, which means that a minimum amount of metal need be used. Prior edge guards, such as that disclosed in applicant's above-mentioned patent, require extra metal because of the integrally formed curls at the extremities of the inner and outer legs. Furthermore, fabrication of a metallic edge guard with curls is somewhat more complicated than fabrication of one without curls. The present invention possesses the further advantage of protectively insulating the edge guard metal from the door metal, and this is important in minimizing any tendency for electrochemical action to occur between the two where dissimilar metals are involved. The invention also provides a shock absorbing capability whereby dents to the metal edge guard which occur while in use are cushioned so as to offer substantially increased protection against paint chipping in the vicinity of the crown of the door edge. The free edges of a U-shaped non-metallic liner within the U-shaped metallic edge guard are shaped to seal between the legs of the metallic edge guard and the body closure.
The foregoing features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, along with additional ones, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and the disclosure sets forth the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention.